At the global health summit on 21 May, G20 leaders are expected to vote against waiving patents on Covid-19 vaccines, according to draft conclusions seen by Reuters. Instead, the G20 countries will reportedly advocate voluntary sharing of intellectual property rights by pharmaceutical companies.
The debate has been raging in the international community since October 2020, when South Africa and India proposed a patent waiver for Covid-19 vaccines. Discussions are still ongoing at the WTO (see EUROPE 12712/16).
MEPs will debate the issue in plenary on Wednesday 19 May. However, a draft resolution on this controversial issue will not be put to a vote until June.
In addition, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke out in favour of waiving intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccine patents at the Paris Peace Forum conference on 17 May. “We are in the midst of a crisis that needs a lever like the patent waiver. Manufacturers should understand this and cooperate. As long as they get incentives from high income countries, they should agree to the waiver of intellectual property rights. If we can’t use a waiver now, when can we use it?”, he asked. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)